Masaya MatsuuraDeveloper BIO
Masaya Matsuura graduated from Ritsumeikan University with a major in Industrial Sociology. He first entered the (computer) music business in April 1983, where he formed the band PYS'S (pronounced "Size"). After ten albums, PSY'S disbanded in August 1996.
A more serious role in computer gaming, he combined music and multimedia with the release of
The Seven Colors. It was the first CD-ROM from a Japanese musician and went on to win the Multimedia Grand Prix of 1993. In that year, he co-founded the game studio
NanaOn-Sha Co., Ltd. and is currently President of the company.
December 1996 saw the release of
PaRappa the Rapper in Japan. In 1999 Masaya crossed over from rap to hard rock with
Um Jammer Lammy and the game won an
SCEI Gold disc after just two months. In the same year,
Vib Ribbon was released, a game with procedurally generated courses based on audio CD's.
In 2003, Masaya produced and composed sound capabilities for the new Aibo "ERS-7" robot dog. 2005 saw the release of
Tamagotchi Connexion: Corner Shop (Nintendo DS) which sold more than a million copies in Japan alone. The game's runaway success led to sequels in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Masaya also masterminded the release of
musika for the Classic iPod in 2008. In 2009 the Wii game
Major Minor's Majestic March became Masaya's first commercial collaboration with artist Rodney Alan Greenblat since 2001's
PaRappa the Rapper 2. It gave the player responsibility to lead a marching band.
He is also the first and only Japanese Emeritus member of the Advisory Board for the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) in The United States.
Websites
Games Credited
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2012), Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.
- WINtA (2010), ngmoco, Inc., OneBigGame
- Vib-Ripple (2004), Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 (2001), Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated
- Um Jammer Lammy (1999), Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated
- Vib Ribbon (1999), Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated
- PaRappa the Rapper (1996), Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated
- Metamor Jupiter (1993), NEC Home Electronics, Ltd.
